MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; all Nashville games, home and away, will be available to watch via MiLB.TV's $39.99 season-long package ($9.99 to pay for a single month). We imagine the audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link.

Alex Cohen is the new play-by-play voice of the Stars; follow him on Twitter @alexmcohen. It's fantastic that Huntsville is returning to what will be a traditional broadcast format this year. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast.

MiLB.TV subsciption note: Huntsville road games in four locales (Mississippi, Tennessee, Jacksonville and Pensacola) will be broadcast.

**********

Brevard County: Idle until Monday for the weekend All-Star break; IF Shea Vucinich and closer Casey Medlen will take part in Saturday's game

Chris Mehring is back to do his customary fantastic work as the Voice of the Rattlers. Follow him on Twitter @CMehring; we'll link to Chris' infamous blog often -- Rattler Radio.

MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; Wisconsin is one of only two (Great Lakes) Midwest League clubs that have all their home games available via MiLB.TV; Chris' call provides the audio. So for the $39.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, all Timber Rattlers home games, and 24 Stars' road games (one Helena series this summer, too).

**********

DSL Brewers: at the DSL Blue Jays, 9:30 AM, although game data won't be available until late afternoon at the earliest

Gerrit Cole is fifth in the Florida State League with a 2.55 ERA. (Mark Lomoglio/MiLB.com)

Gerrit Cole likes to talk about being consistent when he takes the hill. His actions, in this case, line up quite nicely with his words.

Cole (5-1) scattered three hits and two walks while striking out a season-high-tying seven over five frames as Class A Advanced Bradenton blanked Fort Myers, 6-0, on Thursday.

In each of the 11 starts since April 20 for the No. 2 Pirates prospect's, Cole has gone either five or six innings. He's never allowed more than three earned runs and he's struck out between five and seven batters in nine of his 13 totals starts this year.

"I'm just focused on being consistent every time out, on putting up good outings and staying within myself," he said. "You always feel good [after a start like that]."

Thursday's effort was the third scoreless start of at least five innings this season by MLB.com's No. 8 overall prospect, and it was the third time he'd struck out seven.

It was also Cole's first scoreless outing since May 23 and probably his strongest statistical performance since striking out six over six shutout innings in an April 30 win over Jupiter.

The right-hander said his secondary offerings mostly worked as out pitches Thursday.

"I had a good slider, a good changeup and a good fastball, and just used them accordingly," said the 21-year-old. "I'd say the slider was really good."

The Florida State League All-Star selection brought his season ERA down to 2.55, good for fourth in the league. The first overall pick in last year's Draft is also averaging slightly better than a strikeout per inning, with 69 in 67 innings and only 21 walks. Cole is sixth in the FSL in strikeouts and third in WHIP at 1.10.

In his first professional season, Cole hasn't had seemingly any problems justifying the hype that comes along with being the first overall Draft pick. He said part of his smooth transition to pro ball was due to the fact that he tried not to lend any added significance to pitching at that level.

"I've just been getting acclimated to the whole thing really," he said. "You can't prepare for it, you just dive in. There was a little bit of an adjusting time there at the beginning, but I've kind of gotten into a groove a little bit, stayed consistent, stayed within myself."

In fact, the California native has thrown even better against pro hitters than he did against Pac-12 bats in his senior season at UCLA. He went 6-8 with a 3.31 ERA in 16 starts as a junior for the Bruins.

On Thursday, Andy Vazquez tripled and drove in two runs while No. 14 Pirates prospect Alex Dickerson went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored to lead the offense.

Daniel McCutchen followed Cole with two one-hit innings of relief, and Doug Salinas and Quinton Miller worked a scoreless frame apiece to lock down the shutout for the Marauders.

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." - Plato "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato

No. 5 ANTHONY RIZZO, 1BCUBSTeam: Triple-A Iowa (Pacific Coast)Age: 22Why He's Here: .400/.423/1.040 (10-for-25), 5 HR, 6 R, 9 RBIs, 0 BB, 6 SOThe Scoop: Rizzo continues to make it harder and harder for the Cubs to keep him in the minor leagues. On Sunday and Monday Rizzo had back-to-back multi-home run games, bringing his season total to 22. He leads all PCL hitters in home runs and OPS (1.173) and is second in RBIs (57). Cubs fans held their breath on Tuesday after Rizzo hurt his knee attempting to make a sliding catch in foul territory. He has been out of the lineup since Tuesday, but the Cubs say it's only a bruise and Rizzo is day-to-day.

No. 9 TONY CINGRANI, LHPREDSTeam: Double-A Pensacola (Southern)Age: 22Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 SOThe Scoop: Cingrani's career numbers are flat out silly. Through 25 starts and 120 2/3 innings, he has a 1.42 ERA, 165 strikeouts and just 23 walks. Cingrani spent the first two months of the season dissecting hitters in the high Class A California League, and he hasn't faced much difficulty in his first two Double-A starts either. Billy Hamilton may be the talk of the Reds farm system, but what Cingrani's doing this year hasn't gone unnoticed.

Not So Hot:• Jameson Taillon, rhp, Pirates: The high Class A Florida State League typically isn't kind to hitters, and neither is Taillon's electric arsenal of pitches. That's why it's been so surprising that Taillon's results have been so pedestrian. The 20-year-old got bombed for eight runs in 4 2/3 innings in his last start and has given up 15 runs in 15 2/3 innings this month. Taillon still has a plus-plus fastball and a wicked curveball, but with a 4.52 ERA, the results just aren't what scouts have expected from a pitcher many of them think has ace potential.

MAN AMONG BOYS• Tyler Rahmatulla, 3b, Cardinals: Rahmatulla showed promise during his college career at UCLA but struggled to stay on the field between injuries and academic problems that cut his junior year short, and he dropped to the 34th round of last year's draft. The 22-year-old has torn up the low Class A Midwest League, though, leading the circuit in hitting with a .324 average in 179 at-bats and ranking second in slugging percentage at .553. A consistent line-drive hitter, Rahmatulla tied a Midwest League record for hits in a game when he went 6-for-6 in an 11-inning game last Sunday against Burlington, collecting two homers, two doubles and seven RBIs. He didn't stop there, hitting .419/.471/.935 (13-for-31) with three homers, three doubles, two triples, 14 RBIs and eight runs scored for the week.

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." - Plato "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato

All Cubs fans (Wrigleyville): THERE IS NO REASON TO WATCH THIS TEAM. WHEN WILL THEY HAVE MERCY ON US AND CALL UP RIZZO?

Matthew Eddy: Probably the most satisfying way to follow a beleaguered, veteran-bloated big league club is to simply root for the young homegrown players. Take satisfaction when a prospect who rose through the ranks performs well -- right now I guess that's Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney -- but keep looking forward to second-half callups such as Rizzo and Brett Jackson.

Ben (Columbus, OH): Tony Cingrani's numbers so far in the minors have been ridiculous. How does his stuff project in the majors? Does he have the ability to be a front line starter, or is he more of a 4 or 5?

Matthew Eddy: Cingrani left Rice as a reliever, but he's obviously experienced nothing but success as a starter in pro ball. If you're inclined to bet on his future, expect to see Cingrani's strikeout rate continue to decrease as more advanced hitters grow accustomed to seeing his changeup and funky mechanics. He could be a pretty nasty late-game reliever, though, and he could get there quickly if starting doesn't work.

Brad (MO): Is there anything in the new CBA to prevent Mark Appel from signing a 1 or 2 year deal with a Japanese or Mexican team, then entering free agency?

Matthew Eddy: Good question. Send this one to Jim Callis at Ask BA and he might use this in a future column.

Shad (Maryland): If your life depended on it (i know heavy stuff!) would you say yes or No.....Billy Hamilton has a 100 SB season in the major leagues. Thanks. I know I'd be tempted not to bet against him.

Matthew Eddy: I would bet against Billy Hamilton stealing 100 bags in the big leagues . . . though perhaps the game will continue to see decreased run scoring to the point where one-run strategies will rule the day. Plus, I bet the Reds will reign in Hamilton before he puts the wear and tear on his body associated with 120-130 steal attempts. For the record, the only players to steal 100 in a season since the dawn of the 20th century are Rickey Henderson (three times), Vince Coleman (three), Lou Brock and Maury Wills (once each).

Tony (Seattle): If you had to pick 5 pitchers in the minors right now to create a 5 man rotation for 2015 who would it be?

MARIETTA, Ga. – Huntsville Stars first baseman and Southern League All-Star Hunter Morris has been selected to compete in the 2012 Southern League Home Run Derby on Tuesday, June 19 in Kodak, Tenn.

The 23-year-old Morris is currently hitting .285 with seven home runs. In 2011, he set a single-season franchise record for home runs with 19 at High-A Brevard County. The former Auburn Tiger is rated by Baseball America as the Best Power Hitter in the Brewers organization.

The Huntsville native will join Joseph Dunigan (10 HRs) and Denny Almonte (9 HRs) of the Jackson Generals and Justin Bour (6 HRs) from the Tennessee Smokies to represent the North Division. For the South Division, Mobile’s Matt Davidson (14 HRs), Alfredo Marte (13 HRs) and Marc Krauss (9 HRs) and Montgomery’s Kyeong Kang (9 HRs) will represent the division.

The Home Run Derby will take place before the All-Star Game and consists of two rounds. In the first round, the eight hitters will get eight outs each to blast as many home runs as possible. Only two hitters will advance to the second round where they will only receive four outs.

Morris will start the All-Star game and hit in the number four spot. Stars’ second baseman Scooter Gennett will also be starting the game and will hit ninth.

Huntsville Box ScoreMercifully the Stars comeback and finally secure a victory ending the long losing streak. I'm sure this wasn't the start Jimmy Nelson was looking for in his debut, it was reminiscent of his early starts in WI where he didn't command the zone, hopefully he settles in quickly and gets back to pounding the strike zone. Jimmy went 5IP allowing 5 hits, 5 walks, a wild pitch, 1 home run, and 3 earned runs against just 2 strike outs throwing just 51 of 96 pitches for strikes and posting a 6:1 ratio but did pick up a W. Mitch Stetter pitched a clean inning extending his scoreless appearance streak to 10. Santo Manzanillo gave up a 1 run and struck out 3 over his 2 innings of work, actually lowering his ERA to 5.11. Jesus Sanchez closed it out picking up his 6th save.

Hunter Morris posted the only multi-hit for the Stars with a 2-3 effort, though Josh Prince and Scooter Gennett both added doubles. Matt Cline didn't have a good night on the bases getting picked off of first and gunned at 2nd.

DAVENPORT, IA - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers scored two early runs, but could not muster anything else against the Quad Cities River Bandits Friday night at Modern Woodmen Park. It cost them. Quad Cities tied the game in the fourth and scored the winning run on an error in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Rattlers 3-2. The loss ended Wisconsin's seven game winning streak.

The Rattlers (44-24) took the early lead with a pair of runs in the second inning. Cameron Garfield singled to start the inning. Chadwin Stang dropped a bunt to sacrifice to move Garfield to second and the Rattlers got a bonus when the throw to first was wild. Garfield wound up on third base and Stang was aboard at first. Rafael Neda, who had three hits on the night, grounded the next pitch into center field to score Garfield. John Dishon drew a walk to load the bases and Carlos George scored Stang with a line drive single to center for a 2-0 lead.

The bases were still loaded with no outs, but the Rattlers couldn't add to their lead. River Bandits starting pitcher Hector Hernandez struck out the next two batters and ended the inning with a grounder to third. That kept the Rattlers lead at 2-0.

Quad Cities (34-34) tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Anthony Garcia line a 1-2 pitch from Chad Thompson to left for a two-run home run with two outs. The homer by Garcia, his seventh of the season, made the score 2-2.

Wisconsin had opportunities to retake the lead. They had at least one runner on base from the fifth inning through the ninth, but could not get the run across the plate to go back in front of the River Bandits.

David Medina started the game winning rally with a bunt single on the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth. Virgil Hill replaced Median as a pinch runner. Roberto De La Cruz was next and he bunted the next pitch up the third base line. The throw to first was wild and wound up in the Rattlers bullpen down the right field line. Hill raced home with the winning run and beat an off target throw with plenty of room to spare.

Game two of the series in Quad Cities is Saturday night. David Goforth (5-4, 5.71) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Willy Paulino (2-4, 5.50) is making his first start of the season for the River Bandits after 20 relief appearances. Game time is 7:00pm.

Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:40pm.

WP: Travis Miller (2-0)LP: Mark Williams (4-5)

TIME: 2:34

Wisconsin Box ScoreI have no idea what is about lame Quad Cities beating the Rattlers on horribly played walk off bunts but this was the second time the T-Rats botched a sacrifice bunt and let the winning run score against them this year. Chad Thompson was solid, the HR was contested as McMahan was claiming a fan reached over and pulled the ball into the stands. Chad went 5 innings allowing 3 hits, 3 walks, the home run, a wild pitch, and the 2 earned runs against 4 strike outs. Mark Williams pitched the rest of the game allowing 2 hits and a walk against 3 strike outs.

Rafeal Neda paced the Rattlers with a 3-4 effort and Carlos George posted the other multi-hit game with a 2-4 night of his own. No T-Rat hitter had an XBH or a SB though George did get caught stealing. Brandon Macias had the throwing error which allowed the winning run to score.

Wisconsin Play By PlayAfter the T-Rats squandered a great opportunity to tack on more in the 2nd they did the same in the 5th.Wisconsin Top of the 5th

Brandon Macias grounds out, shortstop Matt Williams to first baseman Roberto De La Cruz. Yadiel Rivera singles on a ground ball to left fielder Anthony Garcia. Jason Rogers singles on a line drive to center fielder Nick Martini. Yadiel Rivera to 3rd. Jason Rogers advances to 2nd, on throwing error by center fielder Nick Martini. Ben McMahan called out on strikes. Cameron Garfield pops out to second baseman Luis Mateo.

Can I even call this a game winning rally? A bunt single against the shift and a throw into RF?Quad Cities Bottom of the 9th

I might be able to check back in once more tonight before heading to bed, but it's looking like Friday night may have taken priority over getting the DSL Brewers box score & recap updated on the MiLB site.

Brewers led 3-2 after 6, 5-2 after 7, and then blew it open with a seven-run 8th.

Second-year RHP Jorge Ortega, who will turn 19 later this week, has been very solid in his three starts and sports a 13-to-4 K-to-BB ratio in 17 innings here in the early going. After wondering aloud earlier about the status of converted OF-to-RHP Hitaniel Arias, Arias pitched around a walk and single in a scoreless low-pressure 9th.

Brewer batters walked eight times (one HBP) in addition to their 12 hits (four doubles). Top of the order was big -- second year just-turned 19-year-old CF Francisco Castillo reached base four times, and sports a .423 OBP after 11 games. 17-year-old SS Carlos Belonis, the player we should be focusing most of our attention to on the island, batted 3rd again, also reached four times (double, two singles, walk). Another 17-year-old rookie, LH bat and LF Juan Ortiz, batting 5th, reached base four times as well (single, two walks, HBP). Finally, on base four times to complete the impressive quartet was cleanup man and RF Elvis Rubio, standing 6'3", 215 and not turning 18 until next month. That's a group we should have a lot of fun following this summer.

Every-inning catcher Carlos Pena has started all 11 games, but finally left the dish for the 8th and 9th innings for Kevin Martinez to make his backstop debut once the game was out of reach. There may be help on the way, as the Brewers just added to their roster 22-year-old Yunior De La Cruz, who made his Brewer debut in this game at first base. De La Cruz spent 2011 with the Indians' DSL squad, is listed as a catcher, and in fact, caught in 20 of his 21 games for Cleveland's club last year. It's a reminder that Brewer scouts do need to field a complete team, and can't just go out and sign the best players they can identify overall, regardless of position.

second year just-turned 19-year-old CF Francisco Castillo reached base four times

He also stole five bases in five attempts, something I don't right off hand remember seeing from a Brewers farmhand recently. Maybe Josh Prince a few years ago in Helena? Anyway, Castillo went 12 for 23 in stolen base attempts last year, and is 13 for 13 in only 45 ABs this year. Eat your heart out, Billy Hamilton.

second year just-turned 19-year-old CF Francisco Castillo reached base four times

He also stole five bases in five attempts, something I don't right off hand remember seeing from a Brewers farmhand recently. Maybe Josh Prince a few years ago in Helena? Anyway, Castillo went 12 for 23 in stolen base attempts last year, and is 13 for 13 in only 45 ABs. Eat your heart out, Billy Hamilton.

For me to overlook that (even if it was the middle of the night ) was pretty bad. That's why I begged off box score analysis duty. Thanks for pointing it out (really)!

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum